SpaceX wants to send you to Mars…someday (and other things we didn’t cover)

There’s good news and there’s bad news in today’s edition of GeekBytes. The bad news is that you probably aren’t going to help colonize Mars unless you have $500,000 lying around somewhere. The good news is that we now have a 170-foot long trampoline track on Earth. In all honesty, I’d probably pick the planet with the trampoline.

During the election cycle, one of the most fascinating (and strange) talking points of any candidate was the idea of establishing a Moon colony in the near future. Although that candidate may not have made it past the primaries, sending humans to another planet is exactly what SpaceX has in mind. 80,000 people a year, to be exact.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk spoke to an audience at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London to detail his company’s plan to assist in the creation of a potential Mars colony. By the time Mars colonization is possible, SpaceX estimates the worldwide population will exceed eight billion people. One in 100,000 would be able (provided they're willing) to travel to Mars, with the significant ticket price of $500,000 per traveler. So if you’re interested in colonizing Mars, start saving those pennies. [via Popular Science]

You know those automated sidewalks at the airport that make you feel like the Six Million Dollar Man? Forget about those, because the construction of a 170-foot long trampoline sidewalk (!) of makes them seem obsolete. Designed by Salto Architects as a performance piece for this year’s Archstoyanie festival in Russia, the "Fast Track" (pictured at top) is a trampoline path that stretches through the forest as an example of a different kind of transportation. Unfortunately, I’d imagine the same pitfalls that plague an inflatable bounce house at a kid’s party might be in place here as well. Be safe. [via Knstrct]

We love robots here at GeekTech, as should be painfully obvious if you’ve ever browsed through a single day's worth of our posts. That’s why we thought it was important to highlight this iOS app called Robots created by the fine folks at IEEE Spectrum. It has information on over 126 robots from 19 countries, along with 360-degree views, photos, videos, interviews, and more. In other words, if you have even an inkling of interest in robots, it’s probably worth your $5. [via Boing Boing]

Jacob Siegal Contributor

Jacob Siegal spends a vast majority of his time surrounded with and invested in technology and media, so he decided he may as well start writing about it. You can find more of his writing at Game Rant and his topical tweets @JacobSiegal.